April 16, 2020 - 10:51 AMT
Police find 17 bodies stuffed inside tiny U.S. nursing home morgue

Police reportedly discovered 17 corpses stuffed inside a small morgue at one of New Jersey’s largest nursing homes.

Officers at the Andover Township Police Department found the bodies at the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center after pursuing an anonymous tip about the improper storage of corpses during the coronavirus pandemic, the New York Times reported.

The bodies were placed in a morgue built for just four as the nursing home grappled with mounting deaths, New York Post says.

“They were just overwhelmed by the number of people who were expiring,” Eric Danielson, the police chief in Andover, told the paper, after finding the bodies.

The 17 bodies were among 68 recent deaths linked to the long-term care center, with 26 of those deaths having tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Times.

Andover Subacute accommodates 700 beds. Of the patients who remain in the facility’s two buildings, 76 have tested positive for the virus in addition to another 41 staff members, the Times reported.